Weekend Wrap-Up: 028

Sunday at Sinsheim

Yes, Virginia, they’re open on Sundays. Visit www.technik-museum.de for more information.

Simple Stripes I

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Uschi Wolle 221
Needles: Aluminum circs (US 1 / 2.25 mm)
Gauge: 8.5 SPI
Specs: Toe-up (68 sts), LN garter st short-row heel, picot hem

Here’s a pic of the picot hem for you, Belinda.

I knit the leg until I was satisfied with the length, did a YO, K2tog on the next round, and continued knitting plain for about 3/4″. To sew the hem down, I used a tapestry needle, slipped it off the knitting needle as if to knit, and went under a purl stitch. I’m not sure if this is the technically correct method to sew down a hem, but it worked for me :)

Simple Stripes II: Toe-Up Band Heel

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Uschi Wolle — damn, I can’t find the ball band
Needles: Aluminum circs (US 1/ 2.25 mm)
Gauge: 8.5 SPI
Specs: Toe-up (72 sts), band heel

The back of the strip still needs some tweaking regarding shaping, but overall, this heel is relatively easy to knit. I hope to post the tutorial this week, time permitting.

Late Nite Movie Knits:
50 First Dates: It’s an Adam Sandler movie, so you either love him, or you hate him. This one made me smile.

V for Vendetta: I was under the impression that Natalie Portman would kick some ass in this flick. I was wrong, but not wrong about the, uh, parallelism.

Q&A
Natalja asked:

your socks looks so neat in the pictures, did you use sock blockers?

No, I don’t use them. I just pull and press the socks into submission so they photograph pretty, but the Spey Valley socks wouldn’t cooperate due to its ribby pattern. Enter, the recyclable and reusable cardboard wannabe sock blockers. Complete with notes to perfect the next pair.

Rock doesn’t do well with wood, so asking him to make a pair for me is out of the question. I could either shell out the bucks for a proper pair of sock blockers or make a pair myself. I’m going for the latter and we’ll see how well I play with wood and fast cutting electric tools.

Tonight is Supernatural night at Chez Knit 1, Spin 1, which means I ignore Rock and Nugget and give Dean (Jensen Ackles) my undivided attention. OMG. He’s hot.

ETA: I’m busted. Rock actually read this post and teased me about my “boyfriend.”

A Sweater and Sock Thoughts

Zopfpulli in Pink

Pattern: Pattern 4 from Rebecca baby + kids (Nr. 8)
Yarn: 3 x Knit Picks Sierra, Wild Rose
Needles: Aluminum circs (US 11 / 8mm)
Gauge: 3 SPI

It’s a late post on a not-quite-so-finished project, because I still have to weave in the neck ends. I love how fast toddler knits work up, especially in a bulky, but it felt awkward knitting on Sharpie-sized needles and my tension was a bit off in some areas. It took longer to knit since I had to translate the pattern from German to English, but once you understand sweater design, it’s pretty simple to “guess.”

Sock Thoughts

I plan to reduce that small, but growing sock stash this year (who doesn’t?), and after a brief peek in the sock bin, I noticed a lot of self-patterned sock yarn. Perhaps too much. I started to think of other toe-up heels I can knit with self-patterned yarn, because if you’re familiar with the socks I knit, I prefer the toe-up method … plus a bit of heel st on the bottom for durability.

Short-row heels work great with self-patterned yarn and I’ve used that old stand-by, but I wanted to try something different. I admit I was intrigued with the Band Heel on this tutorial and when I began my sock knitting venture, I first heard of it on a few blogs that I read … and you know I had to try this toe-up, so an attempt was made. It wasn’t difficult to figure out and I only ripped it once during the experiment. It was also the second pair of socks that I knit continuously; I usually knit the short-row heel with the other end of the ball to keep the pattern consistent from the instep to the leg.

A few knitters dislike the “strip” of knitting at the heel and Rock mentioned that it would drive him “crazy.” My heels aren’t that sensitive (walking around in crappy combat boots for a few years will de-sensitize them), but I’ll have to finish the socks and give them a good sock run before I can deem this heel design sockworthy.

I tried a picot cuff too, several times, and liked the final result — I might try this again.

Happy knitting :)

48 Things … You Could Care Less About

No knitting content to post, just something I’ve seen in my Inbox and floating around Blogland. This is more of an e-mail FW, but I still thought it would be fun to add here, too.

1. FIRST NAME? Dina
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? After one of my Mom’s favorite actresses, Dina Merrill. I seriously thought about changing it when I was 18 because I was teased so damn much as a kid.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I don’t remember, but I tear a lot. Be it laughing, sneezing, or just talking to someone.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, six years of Penmanship at a private parochial school will make you like your handwriting.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? None. I don’t like lunchmeat.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of course.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? No
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Hell, no.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I just started eating cereal for breakfast and it’s been Kashi’s Organic Strawberry Fields for the past two months.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, unless they’re boots.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Mentally, yes. Physically, no (not like Superman strong).
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate anything. If it has chunks of chocolate or fudge, even better.
14. SHOE SIZE? 7 or 7.5, depends on the brand.
15. RED OR PINK? Red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I’m not a morning person.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My close friend, Shelley. We knew of each other during our entire military career, but didn’t hang out together until we went back to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX for DSIATP. She introduced me to Margaritas and we’d haunt the club scene and bars together from San Angelo to Omaha. We weathered bad (and good) relationships and experiences, became civilians, and kept in touch after she moved back to Texas. Eventually, she found her Rock, re-married, and became a Mom. I was happy for her because she was finally happy with herself and her life. She died in a car accident six months after we arrived in Germany.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I don’t think it applies here.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Jeans, white-T, gray cotton cardi, and my Project Spectrum August socks. No shoes in this house!
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A granola bar.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Copper
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Grapefruit Bath Gel by The Body Shop.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My Dad.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their hands. I’m transfixed when I watch a guy’s hand cue up at the pool table or drive a manual … or handle a knife when slicing veggies. It’s not a fetish because I’m not turned on by hands in that way. I just think hands are an extension of a guy’s personality and I look at them. I know, it’s weird. I do find it unattractive for a man to have soft hands, sweaty hands, dirty fingernails, and gnawed fingernails.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU STOLE THIS FROM? I’ve seen this everywhere, but don’t remember which blog.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Iced Teagee’s. Sometimes I’d add Vodka. Unfortunately, you can only get them in Tucson, AZ.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Tennis. I picked up a racket to channel aggression when I was young and played on the high school tennis team. My doubles partner called me, Moby, because I’d “whale” on the ball with “extreme force” (so, she says). When my unsuspecting, inexperienced opponents rushed the net, I’d aim for their face.
29. EYE COLOR? Brown
30. HAT SIZE? Small
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Sometimes, but my eyes hate them.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Spaghetti … and when I’m feeling carnivorous I’ll make meatballs.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.
34. Skipped, not intentionally, just how it was copied.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer, if I’m on the coast.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I don’t think anyone will.
39. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Same as above.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Java 5.0. Program Design, Your Unix The Ultimate Guide, and Treasury of Fairy Tales for Nugget.
41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don’t use a mouse pad.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Cinderella with Nugget. It was my first time seeing the movie and it was really … interesting. Are you kidding me? Why didn’t she get the hell out of dodge? Screw the evil stepsisters and stepmonster. Did she really think a man is the answer to a “happily ever after?” OMG, Cinderella, get out and LIVE! OK, I feel better now ….
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Rain and surf.
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? The Stones.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? The Philippines.
46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I can twirl open and close a Balisong with my eyes shut.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Portsmouth, VA.
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I don’t think it applies here either.